The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has agreed to forgo its petrol retail profit margin and sell the product at cost for the next 30 days as the Federal Government rolls out additional measures to cushion the impact of rising global oil prices on Nigerian households and businesses.
The decision, backed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is part of a broader package of interventions announced by the Federal Government to moderate fuel price volatility, ease transportation and logistics costs, and provide relief to vulnerable households without reinstating the petrol subsidy.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, disclosed this in a State House press release issued on Thursday, October 8, 2026.
According to the statement, the Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, announced the measures, expressing the hope that other petroleum marketers would adopt a similar approach as the current surge in crude oil and petrol prices was not expected to persist.
Under the arrangement, NNPC Retail will sell petrol at its landing cost, without adding its retail profit margin. The statement explained that if the company’s landing cost stood at ₦1,300 per litre, it would sell the product at the same price, particularly to support commercial transport operators and other consumers.
Oyedele, however, stressed that the arrangement should not be interpreted as a return to petrol subsidy, which the Tinubu administration discontinued on May 29, 2023.
As part of efforts to reduce exposure to international market fluctuations, the government is also introducing forward sales of crude oil to domestic refineries. The initiative is expected to provide greater certainty in crude supply as production increases and previously committed volumes become available.
The government is further negotiating a ceiling of ₦1,350 per litre on petrol’s ex-gantry or landing cost to help moderate pump prices. Under the proposed arrangement, refiners and importers would absorb costs above the ceiling and recover the shortfall later when crude oil prices or exchange rates become more favourable.
Oyedele said the mechanism was designed to smooth out price fluctuations over time rather than impose permanent price controls.
He explained that maintaining a relatively stable price would offer households and businesses greater certainty than sharp increases followed by unpredictable reductions. The proposed ceiling would be reviewed monthly, with adjustments made as necessary and the applicable figures published for transparency.
The Federal Government is also intensifying efforts to curb road taxes and levies that contribute to rising transportation and logistics costs. Working with state governments and security agencies, it intends to enforce the provisions of the 2025 tax reform laws to address such charges.
Additional support will include increased funding for cash transfers to vulnerable households and subsidised credit for small businesses and consumers.
On transportation, the government plans to accelerate the deployment of compressed natural gas (CNG) in collaboration with state governments. The initiative is expected to lower operating costs for transporters, with the government urging them to pass the savings on to passengers through reduced fares. According to the statement, CNG is 60 to 70 per cent cheaper than petrol.
The government is also considering an excess-profit tax targeting operators found to be taking undue advantage of consumers across the energy value chain. Proceeds from taxes imposed on price gouging would be dedicated exclusively to cushioning the effects of high fuel prices through transport support or vouchers for urban minimum-wage earners.
It will also work with the National Assembly to consider additional tax relief for low-income earners under the 2027 Finance Bill.
Other interventions include reducing regulatory costs that contribute to the high cost of doing business, improving traffic management in major urban centres to reduce fuel consumption, and leveraging the Nigerian Postal Service’s newly introduced address codes to make logistics more efficient and affordable.
In a longer-term measure aimed at strengthening national energy security, the government is investing in a National Strategic Fuel Reserve. Under the proposed framework, refined petroleum products would be released into the market according to clearly published rules whenever global disruptions or hoarding threaten supply and price stability.
The initiative, the statement said, is intended to prevent artificial scarcity, discourage market manipulation and reduce the impact of sudden external shocks without reinstating subsidies or fixing market prices.
The Presidency acknowledged the economic difficulties Nigerians continue to face amid elevated fuel prices but maintained that reversing the removal of petrol subsidy would expose the country to renewed fiscal pressures and market distortions.
It recalled that previous subsidy arrangements had been associated with fuel scarcity, smuggling, currency pressures and fiscal instability, warning against a return to a system the administration considers unsustainable.
The statement said the government’s objective was not to reverse what it described as a necessary economic reform, but to ensure that its benefits reach more Nigerians quickly and in tangible ways.
It added that the Federal Government was working on a comprehensive package of fiscal measures aimed at sustainably reducing inflation to single digits in the near term.
